U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

BLS Information

Employment Status Information on Hurricane Katrina Evacuees

From October 2005 through October 2006, BLS and the Census Bureau
included several questions in the Current Population Survey (CPS) to identify persons who evacuated from their homes, even temporarily, due to Hurricane Katrina. The questions were asked of CPS households throughout the country, since some evacuees relocated far from the storm-affected areas. The questions determined whether evacuees were again residing at their pre-Katrina residences at the time of the survey. This information was cross-tabulated with other information collected in the survey, including employment status.

These estimates only represented evacuees residing in households that were in scope for the Current Population Survey. This included persons who were again living at their August 2005 residences, had moved in with friends or relatives, or had moved to a new house or apartment. Evacuees
who resided in places out of scope for the survey, such as in shelters and hotels, were not interviewed. The total number of evacuees estimated from the household survey
changed from month to month as people moved in and out of the scope of the survey.